In order to improve comfort of passengers, there is a demand for high NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) performance in an automobile. For example, suppressing annoying muffled sound generated by transmission of vibration of a front window glass by a wind pressure of traveling wind to a dashboard panel or the like via a cowl panel for supporting a lower portion of the front window glass is also required to improve NVH performance.
For example, in Patent Literature 1, a strip-shaped reinforcement member for connecting an upper portion and a lower portion of a cowl panel is joined to a back surface of the cowl panel whose substantially vertical section along a vehicle front-rear direction is a substantially S-shaped section, whereby supporting rigidity of a front window glass is improved. Patent Literature 1 having the aforementioned configuration suppresses vibration of a front window glass, and tries to improve NVH performance.
Further, a bent portion projecting toward the vehicle rear side is formed on a lower portion of the reinforcement member. The reinforcement member is bent and deformed at the bent portion when a collision object happens to fall onto a front portion of an automobile, and a collision load is exerted on the front window glass from above the vehicle, for example. Patent Literature 1 having the aforementioned configuration tries to absorb a collision load by easily deforming a cowl panel.
As described above, in Patent Literature 1, reinforcing the cowl panel without impairing deformation of the cowl panel when a collision load is exerted on the front window glass makes it possible to improve NVH performance, and to secure protection performance of passers-by.
In recent years, there is an increasing demand for securing an installation space for auxiliary machines on the vehicle rear side than a cowl panel due to diversification of auxiliary machines to be installed in a passenger compartment. However, in Patent Literature 1, a reinforcement member covers a space above the cowl panel of a substantially S-shaped section. Thus, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure an installation space for auxiliary machines on the vehicle rear side on an upper portion of a cowl panel.
On the other hand, in a case where a strip-shaped reinforcement member for connecting an upper portion and a lower portion of a cowl panel is joined to a front surface of the cowl panel of a substantially S-shaped section, it is possible to secure an installation space for auxiliary machines on the vehicle rear side than the cowl panel.
However, in this case, a space below the cowl panel of a substantially S-shaped section covers the reinforcement member. As a result, a space on the vehicle front side than the reinforcement member may be narrowed. Therefore, a space for inserting a welding gun may be narrowed when a panel member is spot-welded to a lower portion of the cowl panel. Thus, there is a problem that welding workability may be lowered.